Chinese robodog fiasco: Galgotias blames ‘ill-informed’ professor as Neha Singh goes ‘Open to Work’ on LinkedIn

• Galgotias professor faces backlash over robotic dog demonstration
• Neha Singh updates LinkedIn to "Open to Work" after controversy
• University clarifies device isn't their own innovation

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The Galgotias University professor caught in a social media firestorm after allegedly presenting a Chinese-manufactured robotic dog as her institution's innovation has updated her LinkedIn profile to indicate she is "Open to Work", signalling potential professional movement following the controversy.

Neha Singh, a communications professor at the private university, found herself at the epicentre of an online backlash after a video from the AI Impact Summit in Delhi showed her enthusiastically demonstrating a robotic device named "Orion". The footage triggered widespread speculation that the device was being presented as an indigenous creation of the university.

The professor's LinkedIn profile, which now carries the "Open to Work" banner, extensively details her expertise in communication and public speaking. "I have always believed that communication is more than just a skill, it is a force that shapes identity, builds confidence, and opens doors," her biography states. "What sets me apart is not just my command of language, but my ability to connect, inspire, and elevate others through it."

The Greater Noida-based institution moved quickly to contain the reputational damage, issuing a statement clarifying that Singh was "ill-informed" about the technical origins of the robotic dog on display and had not been authorised to speak to the media.

"The involved person (Neha Singh) was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information even though she was not authorised to speak to the press," the university stated in an apologetic tone.

The controversy deepened when another viral video emerged showing the same professor explaining an in-house "soccer drone" to a reporter, claiming its "end-to-end engineering" had been completed on campus.

Addressing the escalating situation, Singh has maintained that her remarks were "misinterpreted" in the fast-paced environment of the summit. She clarified that there was never any intention to suggest the robotic dog had been developed by the university, insisting the device was brought in solely as a demonstration tool to inspire students.

According to her explanation, the institution's broader objective is to familiarise students with emerging artificial intelligence technologies and encourage hands-on learning through globally available tools. The emphasis, she said, remains on equipping students with practical skills for real-world applications in AI rather than claiming ownership of existing products.